


money's worth

by vivalabandoms



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Getting Together, Jealous Eddie, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, buck is working a kissing booth, eddie being a repressed moron, shannon is alive bc i say so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:21:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28575921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivalabandoms/pseuds/vivalabandoms
Summary: buck's manning a kissing booth for a fundraiser and eddie is. not happy.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 262





	money's worth

**Author's Note:**

> this is based on lilywoood's prompt list on tumblr!! https://lilywoood.tumblr.com/post/188904225933/buddie-prompt-list
> 
> no. 63: 9-1-1 charity in which Eddie is in charge of the kissing booth and jealous buck pay a 100$ so that Eddie won’t have to kiss anyone (except i reversed the roles bc I liked that better hee hee)
> 
> also this is my first 9-1-1 fic -- lmk your thoughts!!

* * *

“A kissing booth? Really?” 

Eddie’s chewing slows as he looks up to see Hen grimacing at a piece of paper. The sunlight from the loft’s windows shines through the sheet, allowing the fire department’s logo to stand out.

Bobby had welcomed them to their shift for the day with exciting news. The LAFD’s annual fundraiser had been confirmed a couple of days before, and the finalised list for the stalls had finally found its way to the 118’s dinner table. Eddie picks up his sandwich and peers over Hen’s shoulder.

“Aw, c’mon Hen. It’ll be fun!” Buck says, tossing his stress ball into the air. Hen laughs and slides the paper to Eddie. 

“Only because you’re looking forward to smooching every girl that pays their way to you.”

“Not just the girls, Hen,” Buck smirks, and Eddie nearly chokes on his bread. He barely recovers as Buck continues, “I’ll smooch whoever comes my way.”

Eddie lets out a strangled cough, and all eyes in the room turn to him. 

Eddie clocks them all looking, and clears his throat. “Sorry,” he says, “ _You’re_ manning the kissing booth?” As he asks it, he realises it’s a stupid question. Buck’s the only one on the team who would be up for something as ridiculous as that.

“Well, when you say it like that it sounds insulting,” Buck replies indignantly. “Of course I am. Who else is going to do it? Chimney?”

“Hey!” Chimney says, lobbing a carrot stick at Buck, “I’ll remind you that I’m the only one in this firehouse on the hot firefighter calendar.”

Buck dodges the carrot and grins. “Yeah, plus you’re in love with my sister.”

“Of course, yes, that too.” Chim pauses for a second. “Don’t tell Maddie that wasn’t my first reason.”

Buck gives him a sympathetic thumbs up and turns back to Eddie. Eddie doesn’t notice him as he struggles to process the past couple of minutes. 

_Not just girls_ , he’d said. Did that mean he actually liked guys too? Or was it just for this one thing? Why does it matter if Buck likes guys or not? It’s not like Eddie likes them. Right? It’s only logical he’d know if he did. And why was the very thought of Buck kissing other people making him mad? No, he isn’t mad. He’s… annoyed. Perturbed. Disgruntled. What other words did he learn in AP Lit?

He’s brought back to earth when Buck claps in front of his face, successfully shaking him from his introspective spiral. 

“You okay there, Eds?”

Eddie blinks. “Yeah.” He’s not, but he doesn’t want to address it. He settles on making conversation instead. “Uh, how long will you be at the stall for?”

“Six hours.”

“The whole time?”

“Yeah, there’s nobody else to do it in shifts.”

Bobby looks up from cutting cucumber slices. “You can be part of the booth too, Eddie. Lessen Buck’s burden of having to kiss so many people.”

Eddie makes a face. “No thanks, Cap. I actually have dignity.”

“Ouch!” Buck says, but he’s smiling, so Eddie doesn’t feel too bad. “Where’s your kindness and compassion, Eds?”

Eddie only has time to roll his eyes as the bell rings, and they have to rush out. He brushes the crumbs off his hands and hurries down the stairs with everyone else. He’ll have to deal with his feelings later.

* * *

Shannon finds a guilty-looking Eddie on her doorstep hours after she drops Christopher off at his place. Her first instinct is panic - 

“Eddie? Is everything okay?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. Can I come in?” Eddie asks, and his response brings her guard down.

“Sure,” she says, opening the door wider. Eddie nods and steps inside, kicking off his shoes. He’s still wearing his LAFD tee, and he looks tired.

They both step into her living room, and Eddie looks around. “So… how’s Ana?”

“She’s good,” Shannon says slowly. “She’s grading assignments tonight.”

“Great, great…” Eddie trails off, still looking at anything that isn’t Shannon. 

She sighs. “Eddie, you can’t expect me to believe that you came over just to ask about my girlf-”

“How did you know you liked girls?” The words tumble out of his mouth so quickly that Shannon doesn’t think she comprehended any of it, but it clicks just a second later.

“Oh. Uh, I dunno. I guess I always have? But I didn’t really register it till after I left,” she says. Eddie nods seriously, his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed. “I see, okay. And what led you to that realisation?”

“Is this about Buck?” she asks, and the colour rushing to Eddie’s face as he fumbles over his words tells her everything she needs to know.

“What! No, why would you even- of course it isn’t- why would you think that?” he demands. Shannon chuckles and pats the seat next to her. 

“I’m bringing wine. Tell me everything.”

So she listens as Eddie recounts everything from that morning, and as she takes in his incessant spiralling, she can’t help but marvel at the shift in Eddie’s behaviour. He was more open now, at least marginally more from before. How else would he be sprawled on the kitchen floor with her while he animatedly explains why Buck is stupid and how he shouldn’t be kissing other people?

“Have you told him?” She interrupts Eddie’s fast-paced talking. He looks at her, blank-faced. “Told him what?”

“That you like him.” 

She clamps a hand over his mouth before he launches into another spiel. “Eddie. Babe. It’s obvious. You’re only upset about him kissing other people is because you want him to be kissing you.”  
Eddie blinks. “But I’m not-”

“You don’t have to be,” Shannon confirms. “It’s possible you don’t like guys. You just like Buck. And that’s okay. You can’t depend on labels to get you through this. All you can depend on”--she jabs at his chest--“is your heart.”

Eddie takes a swig from the bottle. “That’s so cheesy,” he complains.   
“But it’s true!” Shannon says. “Just tell him how you feel. I’m positive he feels the same way.”

“Wait,” Eddie says, pushing himself up straighter. “You think so?”  
Shannon scoffs. “Definitely. It’s like you two are already married. You can’t tell me you don’t see it.”  
“I never saw it like that,” Eddie murmurs. The wine bottle is nearly empty now, most of its contents in Eddie’s stomach. Shannon makes a mental note to call him an Uber. 

“You should tell him,” she repeats. Eddie nods and takes another swig. Shannon is almost sure he won’t remember any of this the next day.

* * *

Eddie remembers everything. It’s like the entire night is etched into his brain for eternity, and there’s nothing he can do about it. 

_Just tell him_ , Shannon’s voice echoes in his head, but he dismisses it like he’s been doing for a week now.

He can’t tell Buck. There was just too much to lose. If Buck didn’t reciprocate, then he’d lose the most important person in his life after Chris. It could change everything - and Eddie isn’t ready for that again.

So, no. He can’t tell Buck.

With that internally settled, he takes in the fundraiser. It’s a beautiful day at the park, and he’s shown up an hour after it began, while it’s in full swing. He sees the rest of the 118 along with members of the 136 at each stall. Bobby waves at him from the firetruck that’s parked in the centre of it all. He directs him to the ring toss. 

He’s only on duty for a couple of hours - and he’s right across from the kissing booth.

God, that stupid kissing booth. Eddie could never look at them the same way again.

He sees Buck blindfolded and making conversation with the girl he’s supposed to be locking lips with. Of course Buck is connecting with her. Nobody escapes the Buckley charm.

Eddie pulls his gaze away right as the girl leans in. There’s no way he could watch that.

The next hour and fifty-six minutes are torture. 

Eddie finishes up at his stall and joins Chim, soda in hand and straw in mouth.

“I’ve been swatting minors away from that table all day. I wonder how tired Buck is.” Chimney chews on his straw and glances up at Eddie. “Must be exhausting, huh?”

Eddie doesn’t say anything. He just watches as Buck’s face is pulled in by some guy for an uncomfortably long kiss. 

Eddie decides he’s had enough.

“Where you going?” Chimney calls after him, but Eddie ignores it. He takes out his wallet and picks out some bills.

“Welcome to the kissing booth, it’s a dollar for a kiss. Oh, hey Eddie,” Lena says, confused by the wad of cash he slaps onto the counter. “What..?” 

Eddie smiles not politely and shoves his way to the queue’s front, ignoring the shouting and booing from behind him. He moves the girl whose turn it is out of the line, despite her protests.

“Is everything alright?” Buck asks. His face is red, and he still has his blindfold on. His lips are stained with different shades of red and purple, and Eddie finds himself annoyed again.

“Everything’s fine,” Eddie breathes, and Buck’s face twists.

“E-Eddie?”

“Yep. Wanna take your blindfold off?”

A beat. There’s visible conflict on Buck’s face. Finally, he says, “No.”

Eddie cocks his head in confusion. “Why not?”

He didn’t think Buck’s face could flush a deeper red, but apparently, it could. “Just in case you’re messing with me, I’d really like to keep imagining it’s you.”

Eddie’s heart skips a beat. “It’s really me, Buck.”

Slowly, Buck takes the blindfold off. “Eddie, what are you doing here?”

He lets out a breath. “To stop this booth.”

Buck laughs nervously. “You can’t do that, Eds. We’re raising money.”

“Oh, you’ve raised enough. I paid a hundred dollars to be here right now. I can’t stand to see you kiss all these randos when it should be me.” He takes a breath. “Because it’s always been you for me, Buck. I really, really like you, and I hope you do too because apparently, I’ve been too dumb to even recognise what I feel whenever I’m with you.”

Buck stares at him for an uncomfortably long time, and Eddie is starting to think he screwed up big time, but before he knows it Buck’s hands cup his face and his lips are on his and he’s melting into his touch.

He decides then and there that kissing Buck is the best feeling ever. His lips are soft and he tastes like bubblegum, though that might just be a one-off thing. He finds himself raking his fingers through Buck’s curls, and he knows that he never wants to do anything else.

They pull away. Buck’s eyes are gleaming and Eddie can feel the butterflies in his stomach going wild.

Behind them, Lena waves a bell around. “Alright people, booth’s over. You can all go home now. We’ll give you a refund.”

They laugh, and Buck pulls Eddie across the counter to him again. “So, Diaz, does this mean I still owe you ninety-nine kisses?”

Eddie grins. “Better give me my money's worth, Buckley.”

**Author's Note:**

> i thrive off of comments so if u like something say something! thank u :)
> 
> find me on tumblr newsies-of-new-yawk <3


End file.
